Bat Poop Sparkles - Young Science, #1

The title says lots, but doesn't say it all. You have to read Bat Poop Sparkles to learn how penguins keep their nests clean, and parrotfish make white sand beaches. If you've heard what bears do in the woods, you'll learn they don't do it in winter.

Bat Poop Sparkles is a book for young children to read with their families. Each pair of pages has a photo of an animal, a science fact about animal droppings and a simple sentence of explanation. At the end is a list of website URLS for more information on these animal facts.

Reading books on topics of high interest is a good way to become a child's cool uncle or favourite aunt. Older children might read this book to younger children with transgressive glee. If your young reader is ready to move on from "See Spot run" it's time to bring a little science to bathroom humour.

As the book says: "All animals eat and poop. Scientists mostly study eating, not pooping. Learning about poop is interesting too!"

Although both feeding and elimination of waste are imperatives for all animals, ecologists and evolutionary biologists have devoted considerable attention to foraging, while largely ignoring defecation. Many organisms, however, exhibit defecation behaviours that appear to have been shaped by natural selection in a range of ecological contexts. As is true for foraging, ecological interactions involving defecation may have far-reaching evolutionary consequences and merit further study.

- Dr Martha R. Weiss, Georgetown University, http://weisslab.org

Wait, does bat poop actually sparkle?

Why did no one tell me this.

I love bats even more now!

-GothyBookLover on Twitter